Apple turnover rises as market share grows

Vendor boosts top and bottom line as analyst iSuppli reveals increased slice of PC and smartphone markets

Jobs: we have got some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010

Apple is enjoying a barnstorming 2009 with the vendor's full-year results showing revenue and profit growth, and analysts claiming the firm is growing market share.

Revenue for the three months to 26 September stood at $9.87bn (£6bn), up a quarter on the corresponding period last year. Q4 net profit spiked 46.5 per cent on 2008 to $1.67bn. Apple posted turnover of $36.54bn for the entire year, an annual rise of 12.5 per cent. Full-year net profit grew 18 per cent to $5.7bn.

During the fourth quarter, Apple shifted 3.05 million Macs, up 17 per cent on last year's figure, although the 10.2 million iPods sold represented an eight per cent decline. The firm sold 7.4 million iPhones, a year-on-year increase of seven per cent.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said: “We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter. We have got a very strong line-up for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010.”

Analyst iSuppli claims Apple has grown its share of the smartphone market throughout 2009 as the iPhone significantly outperforms the market as a whole.

The device represented 10.1 per cent of all smartphone shipments in 2009's opening three months. This grew to 12.1 per cent in the second quarter, and iSuppli predicts its share will have grown again when Q3 figures are published.

The analyst also revealed Apple was gaining ground in the worldwide PC market. In Q1 2009 the vendor held a 3.2 per cent slice of the market. iSuppli's preliminary figures predict Apple will account for 3.7 per cent of all PC shipments in this year's second quarter.

Apple's chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer predicted the new fiscal year would see his company post quarterly 11-figure quarterly revenues.

“We are delighted with our September quarter and fiscal 2009 results,” he said. “For the full year, we grew revenue and net income in extraordinarily challenging times. Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2010, we expect revenue in the range of about $11.3bn to $11.6bn.”